UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Management Officer

Alessandro (Alex) Moscuzza joined the STAP Secretariat in January 2021 as the Programme Management Officer focusing on matters relating to the biodiversity focal area and the GEF's work on private sector engagement and South-South collaboration. Read More

Job Titles:

• Business Development Manager at Canary Wharf Limited
• Senior Advisor to the STAP Chair
• Senior Policy Advisor

Biography Chris Whaley is a senior policy advisor with extensive experience of global agreements on climate change, biodiversity, chemicals, forestry, and sustainable development, working in the U.K., EU, internationally, as a diplomat and in the UN system. At the U.K. Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Mr. Whaley was Head of EU and International responsible for leadership and guidance on international environmental and sustainable development policy, including agriculture, food security, climate change, biodiversity, water, oceans, and sustainable consumption and production (2006-2015). He was a member of the U.K. team negotiating Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. Whaley is a former STAP Secretary (2003-05 and 2017-2021). From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Whaley was Counsellor at the British Embassy in Washington DC, representing the U.K. on science, technology, energy and the environment with the U.S. administration, on Capitol Hill, with business, academia and non-governmental organizations. In addition, Mr. Whaley has served as: Business Development Manager at Canary Wharf Limited, a privately-owned property development company redeveloping London's docklands; Visiting Fellow at the World Resources Institute; Visiting Foreign Scholar at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, sponsored by the German Marshall Fund; and Chair of SEED, a non-governmental organization which supports sustainable development projects in developing countries. Mr. Whaley holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a masters degree in mathematical economics from the University of Birmingham.

Job Titles:

• Programme Management Assistant

Biography Daiva Kacenauskaite joined the STAP Secretariat as a Programme Management Assistant in 2021. She assists in providing administrative, financial and programmatic support to the Panel and Secretariat. Before joining STAP, Ms. Kacenauskaite worked in UNEP's North America Office for 10 years with responsibilities in budget and finance, human resources, procurement, programme management support, and other substantive and administrative tasks. Ms. Kacenauskaite holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Environmental Science and Policy. She is fluent in English, Lithuanian and Russian.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Advisor on Risk Appetite

Biography Dr. Blake Ratner is Executive Director, Collaborating for Resilience - a cross-regional, non-profit initiative working to address environmental resource competition and strengthen governance and livelihood resilience in interconnected resource domains and landscapes. An environmental sociologist (Ph.D., Cornell University), he has published widely on rights, equity, accountability and institutional innovation in environmental decision-making, drawing on insights from action research to inform both policy and practice. Dr. Ratner has led programs in South and Southeast Asia and East Africa to strengthen capacity to manage resource competition and is partnering to build a global community of practice on multi-stakeholder platforms for people-centered land governance. He is the immediate past Director General of WorldFish, part of CGIAR, the global partnership for a food secure future.

Job Titles:

• Scientist
• Panel Member on Biodiversity

Biography Dr. John Donaldson is a biodiversity scientist and conservation biologist with over two decades of experience working at the interface between biodiversity science and national and international policy. He has worked mostly in government agencies with a strong focus on strengthening the evidence base for environmental decision making. Dr. Donaldson's research has focused on understanding and resolving the ecological and social issues relating to the conservation of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, wildlife trade, and the management of threatened species. His research has covered 16 countries in Africa, Asia, and Central/South America and has resulted in over 100 scientific publications. Dr. Donaldson has further led and managed programs dealing with the environmental risk of genetically modified organisms, biological invasions, climate change and biodiversity assessments. Dr. Donaldson has held various positions in national and multi-national organizations, including as Chair of the South African Scientific Authority (2009-2018), Chair of the IUCN/SSC Plant Conservation Committee (2010-2020), and Co-Chair of the IPBES assessment for the sustainable use of wild species (2018-2022). He was one of the senior managers responsible for developing the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), particularly the applied research division. His research group won the award for excellence from the National Science and Technology Forum (2005) and he was a finalist in the Green Matter award of the NSTF (2016). Until recently, Dr. Donaldson held the Harold Pearson Chair in botany at the University of Cape Town. Dr. Donaldson holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of Cape Town, a Masters in Entomology from Rhodes University (South Africa), and a Bachelors degree in biology from Rhodes University.

Job Titles:

• Scientist
• Panel Member on Climate Change Mitigation

Biography Dr. Ngonidzashe Chirinda is a climate change scientist and an Assistant Professor in Sustainable Tropical Agriculture at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco. His research focuses on greenhouse gas emissions, uptake, monitoring, and modelling; identifying and evaluating climate change mitigation options; and assessing environmental policy implications. He has worked on several projects in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, exploring new ways to solve climate-related and food security issues. Dr. Chirinda has collaborated with experts from various fields and institutions to design and evaluate climate change mitigation options. He is currently leading the establishment of a centre of excellence to support research on climate change mitigation in Africa. Dr. Chirinda's current research interests are on the circular use of resources, agrivoltaic systems, and the food-energy-water nexus. Dr. Chirinda's work informs national and international climate mitigation processes. He was a lead author of four chapters on the IPCC's 2019 Refinement to the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and a coordinating lead author in the Africa Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change report. Dr. Chirinda is a co-lead of the Global Research Alliance's Inventories and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Support Network, where his work helps to improve the evidence base and quality of agricultural NDCs. He was previously a Technical Coordinator of the Global Research Alliance's Paddy Rice Americas Sub-group (GRA-PRASG); the founder and coordinator of the Latin America Climate Change Mitigation Network (LAMNET); and a member of the Agriculture Technical Working Group of the Climate Bonds Initiatives. Dr. Chirinda has previously conducted research at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia; Aarhus University and the University of Copenhagen, both in Denmark; and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Zimbabwe. He is also a member of the UK Research and Innovation international development peer review college. Dr. Chirinda is on the editorial board of Nature Scientific Report and Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. He has over 60 peer-reviewed publications Dr. Chirinda has a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Science, a Master's in Agronomy, both from the University of Zimbabwe, and a Ph.D. in Climate Change and Agroecology, from the University of Copenhagen.

Job Titles:

• Dean
• Adviser to the Global Adaptation Commission
• Member of the Philosophical Society
• STAP Chair

Biography Dr. Rosina Bierbaum is Dean Emerita of the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment and School of Public Health, University of Michigan, and a Research Professor and Roy F. Weston Chair in Natural Economics University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Her experience extends from climate science into foreign relations and international development. She served for two decades in both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government and ran the first Environment Division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In addition to serving as Chair to STAP, Dr. Bierbaum serves as an Adviser to the Global Adaptation Commission. She also serves on the board of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Federation of American Scientists, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the Climate Reality Project, the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Dr. Bierbaum is a member of the Philosophical Society and the American National Academy of Sciences, as well a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Ecological Society of America, and Sigma Xi. She received the American Geophysical Union's Waldo Smith award for 'extraordinary service to Geoscience' and the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Protection Award. In October 2023, she is set to receive the Association for Environmental Health and Science (AEHS) Foundation Achievement Award. Dr. Bierbaum has authored key reports on climate change - particularly highlighting the importance of adaptation - for the World Bank, the Congress, the White House, and the United Nations. She has lectured on every continent. She earned a BA in English, a BS in Biology, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution.

Job Titles:

• STAP Secretary

Biography Dr. Sunday Leonard assumed the role of the STAP Secretary in October 2023. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinating the work of the STAP staff and the Panel members in support of the GEF Council. Sunday has more than 18 years of experience in environmental science and policy, focusing on bridging the science-policy gap, identifying strategic issues, opportunities, and risks, and providing policy advice to decision-makers. Sunday previously served as STAP's Program Officer covering climate change and chemicals and waste, supporting GEF Integrated Programs, and leading STAP's substantive work on circular economy, plastics, and novel entities and technologies. Before joining STAP, Sunday worked with UNEP's Climate & Clean Air Coalition, where he managed and coordinated the work of its Scientific Advisory Panel, including its interaction with the Coalition's partners (countries, IGOs, NGOs, CSOs, & private sector actors). He also worked at the UNEP's Chief Scientist Office from 2011 to 2015, where he was responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the office and coordinating the office's strategic engagement to bridge the science-policy gap and ensure the scientific credibility of UN Environment's work. He supported several projects in this role, including the Global Foresight Process on Emerging Environmental Issues and the UN Environment/UN DESA Foresight Process on Sustainable Development Challenges and Opportunities in Small Island Development States. In addition, he worked on developing several UNEP reports on various thematic areas, including climate change mitigation and adaptation; early warning systems, disaster risk reduction and resilience; air pollution and human health; agriculture and food security; freshwater, marine & oceans; chemicals and wastes; energy; and sustainable development goals. Sunday received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from University College London, UK, a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK, and an Executive Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, USA. His bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering was obtained from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor of Water Law
• Panel Member on International Waters

Biography Dr. Susanne Schmeier is an Associate Professor of Water Law and Diplomacy and the Head of the Water Governance Department at the Institute for Water Education (IHE) in Delft, The Netherlands. Her research, educational, and advisory work focuses on the legal and institutional mechanisms for mitigating conflict potential around natural resources and the environment, with a particular focus on water. She has published widely on topics relating to environmental security, transboundary water management and international organizations managing natural resources and the environment, both in academic journals and books and for a broader policy and general audience. She is particularly active in engaging with non-expert audiences, advocating for cooperative and sustainable water governance that involves a broad variety of stakeholders. Dr. Schmeier is also affiliated with Oregon State University (OSU), USA, the International Water Law Academy at the University of Wuhan, China, and the Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, The Netherlands. She also advises governments and international organizations on environmental and water conflict and cooperation and supports negotiations and dispute resolution processes in countries and basins around the world. Prior to joining IHE Delft, Dr. Schmeier worked for the German Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), where she managed GIZ's transboundary water portfolio around the world and GIZ's water, energy, and food security nexus project. Prior to this, she also worked for the World Bank and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), among others. She holds a PhD in transboundary water governance from the Free University of Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with Oregon State University, USA, an LLM in international law from the University of London, UK, and an MA in international law and international relations from the University of Leipzig, Germany, in collaboration with Sciences Po Paris, France.

Job Titles:

• Panel Member on Climate Change Adaptation
• Professor and Director of International Development

Biography Edward R. Carr is Professor and Director of International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE) at Clark University. A geographer and anthropologist, Dr. Carr has more than twenty years of experience working at the interface of climate change adaptation and global development as an academic, through policy and technical positions with bilateral and multilateral development donors, and various roles on global environmental assessments, serving as a lead author for the ongoing IPCC AR6. Dr. Carr's work contributes to fields including livelihoods studies; socio-ecological resilience; climate change adaptation; critical development studies; weather and climate services; gender, identity, and development; environmental migration; food security; and climate-smart agriculture. Drawing upon his academic and professional experience, he builds innovative academic units that advance development and adaptation goals by connecting research, teaching, policy, and implementation in novel ways, producing more impactful research and students. Dr. Carr holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kentucky; a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Syracuse University; an MA in Anthropology from Syracuse University; and a BA in American Studies and Archaeology (with high distinction) from the University of Virginia.

Job Titles:

• Professor

Professor Graciela Metternicht is an environmental geographer who works at the interface of science and policy for sustainable development. With over two decades of experience in applied research, training and as an adviser on environmental management, her skills range from development of tools and approaches to map and monitor land degradation processes and for land use change, to operationalization of socioecological frameworks for sustainable land management. Prof. Metternicht has been instrumental in the development of the Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), implemented in 122 countries and central to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land. Her working experience spans over five continents, in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ecuador, Belize, Guyana, Mexico, Honduras), South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Japan, and Australia. Born in Argentina, Prof. Metternicht is a graduate from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Sante Fe) and holds a PhD (Geography) from the University of Ghent (Belgium).

Job Titles:

• Programme Management Officer

Biography Guadalupe Durón works in the Secretariat of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). She works on sustainable land management activities to support the GEF's work in this area. While doing so, Guadalupe supports STAP in developing and delivering strategic advice for the GEF's land degradation focal area. She also supports STAP's work on cross-cutting topics, such as systems thinking, resilience, policy coherence, and blended finance. Guadalupe holds a Master of Science Degree in Development Studies with a focus on Agriculture, Environment, and Development from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

Job Titles:

• Senior Advisor to the STAP Chair

Biography Dr. Mark Stafford Smith is based in Canberra, Australia, and contributes to research on adaptation and sustainable development. He is retired from CSIRO, Australia's national research organization, where he oversaw a highly interdisciplinary program of research on many aspects of adapting to climate change, as well as regularly interacting with national and international policy issues around sustainable development. He continues as a CSIRO Honorary Fellow, and in several international roles. Dr. Stafford Smith has over 30 years' experience in drylands systems ecology, management and policy, including senior roles such as CEO of the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre in Alice Springs, and providing advice to various government boards on biodiversity, dryland catchments, drought policy, climate adaptation, regional development, and environmental monitoring, among others. He has integrated his systems ecology and modelling foundations with social and economic sciences, publishing on decision making under uncertainty, enterprise and regional economics, transdisciplinarity, and equity, generally contributing to the development of sustainability science. Dr. Stafford Smith has worked in drylands systems in Latin America, the U.S., and all parts of Africa and the Mediterranean, the Middle East, some parts of Asia and across the diversity of environments in Australia. His significant international roles include being past vice-chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme's Scientific Committee; co-chair of the Planet Under Pressure: New Knowledge Towards Solutions conference in 2012 on global environmental change in the lead up to Rio+20; inputs to the development of the UN's Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals; and, through 2013-17 Chair of the inaugural Science Committee for Future Earth, which helps to coordinate research towards global sustainability worldwide. He continues to publish, adding to over 200 peer-reviewed contributions to science, as well as many presentations and publications for less-specialized audiences.

Job Titles:

• Associate Editor of the Journal Environmental Science
• Panel Member on Chemicals and Waste
• Professor

Biography Professor Miriam Diamond has gained expertise in chemical contaminants and environmental issues in general, from over three decades of conducting research and teaching at the University of Toronto. She has also been involved in promoting sound chemicals management at national to international scales. Prof. Diamond's research goal is to reduce impacts from chemical contaminants by understanding their releases through to human and ecological exposure and to translate this into preventative measures. Her science and policy research have been published in over 200 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, in addition to receiving media attention. Prof. Diamond is an Associate Editor of the journal Environmental Science and Technology and sits on the Editorial Review board of Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. She was the co-chair of the Canadian Chemical Management Plan Science Committee from 2017 to 2021, is the Vice-Chair of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution and is involved in several other national and international organizations. Prof. Diamond is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. In 2007, she was named Canadian Environmental Scientist of the Year and was a finalist in 2018 for the Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature. Prof. Diamond received her Doctorate in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry from University of Toronto, a Master's of Mining Engineering from Queen's University (Canada), a Master's in zoology from University of Alberta and a Bachelor's degree in biology from University of Toronto.